JBL Spearfishing Hydro Seal Spearfishing Freediving Hydro Seal Aqua Plugs

A couple of years a go during a dive trip, I ended up with a middle ear barotrauma and was forced to scrub the last few days of dives that trip. As a precaution, I bought these ear plugs a couple year ago and threw them into my save a dive kit. On my most recent trip after several dives, I began having congestion and could tell I was getting fluid build up in my middle ear from the poor equalizing I was being able to perform. I decided to take two days off from diving. However, even with decongestants and a a lot of gum chewing, one estuation tube was challenging to equalize, though I was able to with using a combination of the 3-techniques I know. I still definitely had fluid in one ear too, which was a bit worrisome as it is a symptom of barotrauma. I did not have any ear pain however. Based on how I was feeling, I decided to try the plugs to drive to dive, but prevent potential further ear trauma. To my great pleasure, they worked great, exceeding my expectations! I was equalizing a lot (like every 1 to 2-ft down to 35' then less frequently) to prevent middle ear pressure differential, and the plugs did not interfere at all with that process, probably helped. I think they help create a little pressure buffer keeping the middle ear pressure more slowly affected by the water pressure. It was not until about 5-ft of depth, I could feel a trickle of water enter through the plugs, which was as I expected. I continued to dive using them (in both ears) for the remaining 5-days of my trip, generally 3-dives a day. Between taking off 2-days of diving and subsequently using the plugs (and continuing decongestants - yes I am aware of the cautions for that) and lots of gum chewing I had no further equalizing problems, and by the end of the trip all of the fluid in my middle ear was gone. Based on prior experience, I am sure this would not have been the case without these plugs. Inserting and removing them was no problem. They do muffle sound, but do not completely block it. I would put them in after the dive briefing on the boat. They keep your ears from being continuously washed out by sea water - taking them out after the dive, you get a little trickle of nice warm water out of each ear. I washed them off with fresh water after each dive to prevent any salt buildup. While I don't plan to use them every time I dive, if I do notice any congestion or difficulty equalizing, or if there is a lot of muck in the water, I certainly will not hesitate to pop them in to protect my ears.